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Kansas

Surge in Online Sales Tax Bills in States | 03-16-2018

Legislation is under consideration in at least nine states providing for the collection of sales taxes on remote purchases, according to the National Association of State Legislatures.
The bills include Oklahoma SB 337 , passed by that state’s...

Developments in 2017, including the highly publicized Equifax data breach and adoption of cybersecurity requirements for insurance companies, banks and other financial institutions by New York’s Department of Financial Services, have the financial...

Over Half of States Seeking to Maintain ‘Net Neutrality’ | 03-02-2018

At least 29 states have introduced legislation this year aimed at reinstating the requirement that internet service providers treat all content the same in terms of price and accessibility, which was eliminated last year with the Federal Communications...

Budgets in Brief - March 5 2018 | 03-02-2018

MI HOUSE PASSES ‘BRAIN DRAIN’ TAX BREAK: The MISSISSIPPI House passed a bill last week that would provide graduates of four-year colleges and universities in the state who stay and work within its borders a three-year exemption from state...

Who’s a Good Boy? | 02-16-2018

John Chiang isn’t the only gubernatorial candidate trying to stand out in a crowded field. The Kansas governor’s race has drawn at least 20 people and one dog. Wait, what? Yes, as the Hutchinson News reports , Angus P. Woolley wants his shot...

Teen Candidates Flood KS Gov Election | 02-16-2018

Taking advantage of state candidacy laws that set no minimum age or residency requirements, seven minors have filed to run for governor in Kansas. They are just a portion of at least 20 people – and one dog - that have filed paperwork to run for...

A Friend Indeed | 02-02-2018

Politics can make you want to gag sometimes. But if you really do get something caught in the old windpipe, it would be good to have Kansas Sen. Ed Berger around. As the Wichita Eagle reports , Berger recently performed the Heimlich maneuver on Sen. Dan...

In response to the $10,000 cap on the federal deduction for state and local taxes (SALT) included in the federal tax overhaul, lawmakers in high-tax states like California are considering allowing taxpayers to make charitable contributions to state funds...

Most States Taking Action on Cybersecurity | 12-08-2017

As of Oct. 30 at least 43 states had introduced over 240 bills and resolutions related to cybersecurity this year, according to analysis of LexisNexis State Net data by the National Conference of State Legislatures. Twenty-seven of those states have enacted...

More Familiar Issues Likely to Draw State Lawmakers’ Attention in 2018 | 12-08-2017

As SNCJ ’s Rich Ehisen reported last week, some of the issues likely to receive the most attention from state lawmakers next year are those that are already familiar, such as health care, the opioid epidemic and sexual harassment. Here are several...

One-Party Rule No Guaranty of Results | 11-17-2017

After hitting the political trifecta this month with the election of Democrat Phil Murphy to the governor’s office, the first order of legislative business for New Jersey Democrats next year will likely be raising taxes on high-earners, a proposal...

Sexual Harassment Prevalent Problem in Statehouses | 11-03-2017

Incidents of sexual harassment or sexual assault involving female state lawmakers, legislative staff or lobbyists have been reported recently in at least 16 states. The legislatures in all of those states have training programs or policies in place to...

Lawmakers Look to End Harassment Under the Dome | 11-03-2017

What started as a flood of allegations of sexual harassment and assault against powerful Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein has morphed into an ever-widening outcry against such outrages regularly committed by men in all workplaces, including statehouses...

Budgets In Brief - October 9 2017 | 10-06-2017

POT LEGALIZATION EXPANDING PUBLIC PAYROLL IN CA
With recreational marijuana becoming legal in CALIFORNIA in 2018, the state is in the process of hiring hundreds of new government employees to help oversee the industry, including environmental scientists...

Business - October 2 2017 | 09-29-2017

Business In Wisconsin
A WISCONSIN Appeals Court upholds the Badger State’s right-to-work law, which bars unions and employers from requiring that all employees pay fees to join a union, either in membership dues or “fair share” payments...

Kansas election officials threw out 13,717 ballots cast in the state in the 2016 presidential election. That total is at least triple the number of ballots rejected last year in any similarly sized state and is even higher than the 13,461 ballots disqualified...

New Front Opens In GOP Fight Against Unions | 08-18-2017

After Republicans won control of the Iowa Senate last year, giving them control of both the legislative and executive branches of that state’s government, they enacted a package of labor reforms curbing the collective bargaining rights of public...

Governors In Brief - August 7 2017 | 08-04-2017

HOGAN PROPOSES NEW TIMETABLE FOR MD EMISSIONS TESTS
MARYLAND Gov. Larry Hogan (R) proposed giving Old Line State drivers an extra year before their vehicles would have to undergo an initial emissions inspection. Current law requires the inspection...

Trump Voter Fraud Commission Sparks State Backlash | 07-07-2017

There were some early fireworks last month after the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity - assembled to investigate President Donald Trump’s claims that voter fraud is rampant in America and cost him the popular vote in last year’s...

States Address Cybersecurity, Election Reform And Other Issues | 07-07-2017

Despite the unusual amount of uncertainty heading into this year’s state legislative sessions, a few of the issues we predicted last December might receive particular attention from lawmakers, such as cybersecurity and transportation funding, have...

Budgets In Brief - July 3 2017 | 06-30-2017

KS Gov Signs Budget With Tax Increase
KANSAS Gov. Sam Brownback(R)signed a $15.6 billion state budget last month that includes the $1.2 billion income tax increase approved by lawmakers. The governor vetoed that rollback of the income tax cuts he championed...

Social Policy - June 12 2017 | 06-09-2017

Social Policy In Deleware
The DELAWARE House approves legislation that codifies the right of women to obtain an abortion. It moves to Gov. John Carney (D), who has said he will sign it into law (NEWS JOURNAL [WILMINGTON]).
Oregon Signs HB 2673 ...

KS Lawmakers End ‘Tax Experiment’ | 06-09-2017

In 2012, after signing into law one of the largest tax cuts in his state’s history in an effort to jump start the state’s economy, Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s (R) said in a television interview: “We’ll see how it works. We’ll...

Business - May 22 2017 | 05-19-2017

Nevada Approves SB 106
The NEVADA Senate approves SB 106 , which would raise the Silver State minimum wage to $12 per hour by 2022. The measure, which would hike the wage standard by .75 cents every year for the next five years, moves to the Assembly...

Some KS Lawmakers Gearing Up For Override Fight | 05-04-2017

This year marked a rift between Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) and many of the state’s lawmakers, including some of his fellow Republicans, with both chambers of the GOP-led Legislature voting to roll back a major tax cut the governor championed...

GOP Holds Congressional Seat In KS | 04-14-2017

Kansas’ Republican Secretary of State Ron Estes defeated Democratic Wichita civil rights attorney James Thompson in a special election last Tuesday to fill the Fourth Congressional District seat vacated by Republican Mike Pompeo, who was appointed...

Health & Science - April 10 2017 | 04-07-2017

Kansas Vetoes HB 2044
The KANSAS House fails to override Gov. Sam Brownback’s (R) veto of HB 2044 , which would have expanded Medicaid in the Sunflower State to include people with incomes at 133 percent of the poverty line (KANSAS CITY STAR...

Politics in Brief - March 13 2017 | 03-10-2017

High Court Rejects VA Districts Over Race:
On a 7-1 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered a lower court to re-review 11 legislative districts drawn by VIRGINIA Republicans after the 2010 Census. The districts are among a dozen that Democrats argued...

KS Gov Vetoes Income Tax Hike | 03-03-2017

Kansas’ Republican-controlled Senate followed the lead of the state’s Republican-led House last month and approved a major income tax increase, completing a reversal of course from the big tax cuts the GOP-controlled Legislature passed in...

KS House Approves Income Tax Hike | 02-17-2017

On Thursday (Feb. 16) Kansas’ Republican-led House gave final approval for a major income tax increase, marking a reversal of course from the big tax cuts the GOP-controlled Legislature passed in 2012 and 2013 at the urging of Gov. Sam Brownback...

Some States Better Positioned than Others for Fiscal Downturn | 02-03-2017

Twenty-five states ended the 2016 fiscal year with revenue collections that were below projections, and nearly that many were already forecasting shortfalls for the current fiscal year only months after it had begun, according to the National Association...

Budgets In Brief - February 6 2017 | 02-03-2017

Indian Gaming Boosting OK Economy
Native American tribes have paid the state of OKLAHOMA over $1 billion in exclusivity fees since 2006, according to a report from the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. The report also indicated that tribal gaming...

Politics In Brief - January 23 2017 | 01-20-2017

Thousands of Ballots Tossed in KS
Thousands of provisional ballots cast in KANSAS in November were thrown out by election officials because no registration could be found for the voters who cast them. But some local election officials are concerned...

Politics In Brief - December 19 2016 | 12-16-2016

Lobbyist Spending Down in MA
Lobbyist spending last year in MISSOURI - which totaled about $690,000 - was down by more than $200,000 from any other year on record, and spending has continued to fall this year, according to analysis of Missouri Ethics...

Trump Tax Plan Similar To ‘Real-Live Experiment’ In KS | 11-18-2016

To stimulate America’s economy, President-elect Donald Trump wants to cut personal income and business taxes by about $6 trillion over the next decade, a little more than 10 percent of federal revenues. That plan seems to be music to the ears of...

Politics In Brief - November 14 2016 | 11-11-2016

HI Senate to be Controlled Exclusively by Dems
HAWAII’s sole Senate Republican Sam Slom was defeated by Democrat Stanley Chang on Nov. 8. As a result, the state’s 25-member Senate will become the nation’s first single-party chamber...

Budgets In Brief - November 7 2016 | 11-04-2016

VW Settlement to Offset Budget Cuts in MO
MISSOURI Gov. Jay Nixon (D) said the state will use the first $8.7 million share it received from Volkswagen as part of a settlement over the German carmaker’s emissions cheating scandal to offset earlier...

Stay Classy, Kansas | 10-21-2016

Citing legal precedent is part and parcel to most any lawsuit. But one might think that a savvy legal beagle would avoid citing decisions more infamous than laudable. When it comes to Kansas Solicitor General Steven McAllister, one would be wrong. As...

Citizen Initiatives Push Ballot Measures Left This Year | 10-14-2016

In addition to state legislative elections that could flip party control of 18 chambers across the country, 157 statewide ballot measures will also be contested in 35 states on Nov. 8. The measures include an unusually high number of citizen initiatives...

Politics In Brief - October 10 2016 | 10-07-2016

Federal Appeals Court Blocks KS Voter Registration Requirement
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit has upheld an order blocking KANSAS Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) from requiring voters to show proof of citizenship when registering...

KS Considering Ending Monthly Revenue Reports | 10-07-2016

A task force appointed by Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) in June to review the state’s revenue forecasting process has recommended ending the practice of issuing monthly reports comparing revenue estimates with actual collections. The task force...

Budgets In Brief - October 10 2016 | 10-07-2016

NV Stadium Special Session
NEVADA Gov. Brian Sandoval (R) has called a special session to consider increasing room taxes in Clark County to finance $750 million of a proposed $1.9 billion, 65,000-seat stadium in Las Vegas - the potential new home of...

States Sue To Block Federal Overtime Rule | 09-30-2016

Twenty-one predominantly Republican-governed states have filed a federal lawsuit challenging a new Obama administration rule extending mandatory overtime pay to millions of American workers. The rule, which was finalized in May and takes effect in December...

KS Gov’s Advisory Council Abandons Economic Report | 09-30-2016

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback’s (R) economic advisory council is no longer compiling the quarterly review of economic markers handpicked by the administration as an accountability check for its economic policies.
“A lot of people found them...

KS Lawmaker Wants To Give Budget Balance Law Teeth | 09-30-2016

A law on the books in Kansas requires the state to end each year with a budget balance equal to 7.5 percent of expenditures as a cushion against revenue fluctuations. But the state’s lawmakers often ignore that law. In fact, the state began the...

Court Blocks Voter Registration Requirement In Three States | 09-16-2016

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has ordered Alabama, Georgia and Kansas to stop requiring residents to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or naturalization papers, when they register...